How the tables have turned.
The Justice Department announced June 30 that they’re conducting an investigation into the policies and practice of NYPD’s Special Victims Division (SVD), which commonly handles crimes involving rape, sexual abuse and children. According to the media release, the Justice Department received “information alleging deficiencies at SVD that have persisted for more than a decade, depriving survivors and the public of the prompt, thorough and effective investigations needed to protect public safety.”
The Justice Department writes that officers failed “to conduct basic investigative steps and instead shaming and abusing survivors and re-traumatizing them during investigations.”
This same division inspired Law and Order creator Dick Wolf to write an episode based on the 1986 murder of Jennifer Levin, who was strangled in Central Park by her ex Robert Chambers. The episode, “Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die,” prompted the 1999 spin-off, starring Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni.